The present invention is directed toward a cart caddy for shopping carts and, more particularly, to such a caddy comprising a length of padded material that is adapted to firmly secure the baby in the shopping cart.
Shopping carts are commonly provided in a number of snores such as supermarkets and drug stores. These carts typically have a collapsible seat that can be used to support a small child. When a shopper is accompanied by a small child, the seat is fully extended so that the child can be seated therein.
The youngster is positioned so that he faces the person pushing the cart. The child's legs fit through openings beneath the handlebar of the cart. Accordingly, the seat provides a convenient place to put the child so that the shopper does not have to hold the youngster or, alternatively, allow him or her to freely wander about the store.
The seat portion is generally comprised of a metal grill that has a hard plastic covering mounted thereon. The back rest portion (seat back) of the seat is also a metal grill. As a result of this configuration, the aforementioned shopping cart seat does not provide a comfortable seating for the child. Another drawback with the shopping cart seat is that it does not prevent the child from standing up or otherwise moving about the cart. In addition, small children tend to pick up germs by placing their mouths on the metal grill. Accordingly, a number of devices have been developed to be inserted into a shopping cart to aid in the comfort of the child and/or secure the child in the shopping cart.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,207 to Quartano, for example, discloses a cushioned seating device that has one end secured around the handle bar of a shopping cart and the opposite end secured to the too of tile back rest portion of the shopping cart seat. A seat belt is provided to secure a child to the cushion. However, since the device is only attached to the top of the back rest portion of the shopping cart seat, the child can laterally move his lower torso away from the back rest. This device, therefore, does not securely hold the child in place in the shopping cart.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,502 to Houllis also shows a seat cushion for the seat portion of a shopping cart. Again, this device does not impede lateral movement of the lower torso of the child as the cushion is only attached to the top portion of the seat back. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,805,.937 and 5,238,293 suffer from the same deficiency.
There are known devices that secure a child directly to the seat back portion of a shopping cart. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,464 to Cook. However, this patent does not provide a cushioned surface for the child to sit on. See, also, U.S. Pat. No. 3,306,661.
Accordingly, there is a need for a cart caddy for shopping carts that provides the child with a cushioned seating area and impedes the lateral movement of the child while seated in the shopping cart.